ECLIPSE
GOES AHEAD WITH SINGLE,HIKES PRICE OF TWINEclipse
Aviation formally announced its intention to begin production of a $1.35
million single-engine jet called the Eclipse 400. The announcement was
made Friday at the company's annual "E-rrival" event in Albuquerque. At
the same time, Eclipse announced it was boosting the price of its
twin-engine 500 model by $555,000 from $1.595 million to $2.15 million.
The announcements came as Eclipse was celebrating the tenth anniversary
of the company. In both cases, Eclipse founder and CEO Vern Raburn said
they were ideas whose time had come. More...

AUSTRO
ENGINE: WILL IT SAVE DIAMOND?Located in the same industrial
complex south of Vienna alongside Diamond Aircraft, Austro Engine is
furiously gearing up to build new aerodiesel engines that will
eventually replace Thielert's troubled Centurion line. At the Berlin Air
Show this week, Austro displayed the AE 300, a 2-litre powerplant that's
an evolutionary improvement over the same Mercedes-Benz engine Thielert
used for its Centurions. Austro is working with MBTech, a Mercedes Benz
daughter company, to develop the four-cylinder engine and certification
is "imminent" according to a report in Flight Global's Flight Daily News
this week. Like the Centurion, the AE 300 is a turbocharged,
direct-injected diesel engine with high-pressure, common rail
technology. But it has 165 HP rather than the Thielert's 135 HP. We're
told that the engine has the same relative footprint and is being
specifically designed to fit Diamond's DA40 Star and DA42 Twin
Star.

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RISING
FUEL COSTS; FALLING FLIGHT HOURSAs an economic barometer,
the figures for general aviation suggest fuel prices and the economy may
be hitting the little guys hard. The evidence is indirect and
correlational, but abundant. Friday, AVweb's fuel finder, located
at AVweb.com, showed prices for 100LL
averaging more than $5.30 per gallon and that they had climbed eight
cents since the previous week. A review of activity at FAA and contract
towers for 2007 included in FAA's Aerospace Forecast for 2008-2025
stated, "At the end of 2007, non-commercial aircraft activity was 16.1
percent below the activity in 2000, having declined each year since
2002." The FAA's most recent year-over-year records available online
show the difference in hours flown by recreational pilots in 2005 and
2006 -- recreational pilots flew about 125,000 fewer hours in 2006 than
the prior year. If that's just a bump in the road, it's a bump in a road
that's been headed downhill for years. FAA figures show that fixed-wing
piston aircraft flown for personal use flew about 2.3 million fewer
hours in 2006 versus 2000. As for sales of small aircraft, light sport
aircraft in the first quarter of 2008 dropped 30 percent from six months
prior, according to industry watchdog Dan Johnson. The General Aviation
Manufacturers Association (GAMA) showed sales of piston aircraft fell 28
percent when compared with the first quarter of 2007. Showing a stark
class divide, general aviation business flight hours appear unaffected
as do sales of business aircraft, and both may be carrying their
respective tallies -- plus total hours and sales figures for general
aviation as a whole -- higher. More...

THE
NOTAM DATABASE CRASH: WHAT HAPPENEDA nearly 20-hours-long
crash of the FAA's NOTAM database last week occurred because of a drive
failure that took place "in the middle of updating the information on
the hard drive," which in turn "screwed up the database," Barry Davis,
manager of the aeronautical information management for the FAA, told
ComputerWorld.com. The box in question was a Sun Microsystems Inc.
server, according to the FAA, that was nearing the end of its life
expectancy. Its failure put controllers to work disseminating the NOTAM
information to pilots. Davis' team already had replacement equipment on
hand, they just hadn't yet performed the replacement. Because of that,
the hardware recovery portion of the fix "was quite simple -- we just
put the boxes in," said Davis. Unfortunately, when they did that, they
moved a data error over to the backup system, thereby corrupting it and
causing the system to run slowly and in a manner that appeared to be
deteriorating. In the end, the latest information had to be pulled from
the corrupted database, re-imported into the new database and
resynchronized with all the subsystems. Davis' team then put the system
back online and stuck around into the evening to make sure there were no
more surprises. More...

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CHAMBLISS
WINS DETROIT RED BULL RACEBy one of the narrowest margins in
Red Bull history, Arizona native Kirby Chambliss won the Detroit Red
Bull Air Race title with a final race time of 1:12.08 beating runner up
Paul Bonhomme by a mere 0.15 seconds. Austrian pilot Hannes Arch and
Mike Mangold came in third and fourth place. The twelve competing pilots
flew a modified qualifying round on Sunday because the flying was
cancelled on Saturday due to winds. The race gates can normally
withstand winds up to 40 knots, but wind gusts of more than 60 knots
forced race officials to cancel on the grounds of safety as some of the
gates were blown off their moorings. More...

ALASKA
PILOTS GET TOOLS FOR THE JOB: MORE ADS-BMike Cirillo, the
FAA's top official in Alaska, backs the installation of more Automatic
Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast coverage in Alaska supported with
two-way datalink systems and at a May 14 presentation, he said coverage
would expand by the end of this year. Countering concerns that the
system would not be further deployed, Cirillo said Fairbanks, Nome,
Kotzebue and Anchorage would be home to four new ground-based
transmission receivers before 2009. The ADS-B system is hailed as making
flying more than 40 percent safer in areas of no radar coverage and high
traffic and Cirillo's position was welcomed by local pilots. "This is
huge. This is good news for Alaskan pilots," one pilot told
Alaskajournal.com. Cirillo hopes acting FAA Administrator Bobby Sturgell
will make the trip to Alaska later this summer to see the region's
challenges firsthand. Pilot groups concerned that new coverage would be
held off until late 2009 now have reason to believe the system will soon
grow beyond Southwest, Southeast and Anchorage bowl airspace.
More...

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ATG
FILES CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY, BYE MARCHES ONATG, maker of the
fighter-like Javelin jet, suspended operations in December and as of May
23, ATG has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Colorado-based company
that once sought to deliver its subsonic two-place "executive" jet
failed to find a buyer and now leaves between 100 and 200 creditors
seeking some return on investments ranging from $10 million to $50
million. Court documents indicate ATG has liabilities ranging from $50
million to $100 million. Previous reports indicated that ATG's board had
by March successfully negotiated deals with its main lenders and was
seeking "final offer bids from prospective buyers to reach ATG within
the next few weeks." By April, ATG's former chairman and president,
George Bye, was seeking incentives to locate a new privately funded
business venture, Bye Engineering, and May 27 announced that company had
signed "a long term agreement" with Colorado-based machining company,
Arrow Industrial. More...

CORONER:
UK NIMROD FLEET NOT AIRWORTHYA coroner who led an inquest
regarding the September 2006 midair explosion of a Nimrod sea control
aircraft has said the aircraft "like every other aircraft within the
Nimrod fleet, was not airworthy," but the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD)
does not have to comply the coroner's recommendations and likely won't.
An RAF Board of Inquiry in December 2007 delivered a report that
declared aging parts and lack of fire-suppression systems as
contributing factors but in the end apparently served as a spark for
investigations initiated by parents of some of the deceased fliers. Of
all the parents, Graham Knight stood out for claiming to have e-mails
from high-ranking officers that detailed problems with fuel leaks prior
to the 2006 explosion and noted a 2005 recommendation from BAE Systems
that fire-detection systems be installed on the aircraft. The assistant
deputy coroner who led the inquest is now calling for the entire Nimrod
fleet to be grounded, according to Defense Industry Daily. The UK MoD
has taken measures it believes are satisfactory and will continue to fly
the plane. More...

ON
THE FLY ...The Red Bull Air Races now have a dedicated YouTube
channel...Flight Design is retaining its lead in the LSA
market...EAA members are eligible for a free SPOT Satellite
Messenger at AirVenture...Engine fire may have preceded Kalitta 747
aborted takeoff and crash. More...

Pilot Insurance Center (PIC)
Offers Quick Decision Term Life InsurancePIC is offering Quick Decision Term product. The
application, approval, and delivery processes are streamlined, allowing
decisions in a few minutes or days versus weeks or months with
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testing, and no waiting for results. Face amounts up to $300K, available
to most pilots. Ask about it today. Call PIC today at 1 (800)
380-8376, or
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Between Wheels Up and Wheels
Down, There Is One Important Word: How
As the team managing the FAA AFSS system, Lockheed Martin serves
nearly 90,000 general aviation pilots every week. Providing timely,
accurate information and helpful service 24/7. From weather forecasts to
en route information, from Hawaii to Puerto Rico, ensuring flight safety
in the National Airspace System is all a question of how.
And it is the how that makes all the difference.
Click here for more.

AVWEB
INSIDER BLOG:THIELERT'S FLAWED ECONOMICS (AND WHY THE COMPANY KNOWS
IT)Our analysis of Thielert's new diesel engine pricing
shows that the diesels now cost more than twice as much as a turbine
engine to maintain. We don't see how this can work, and Paul Bertorelli
runs down the logic on our blog, AVweb Insider.Be sure to visit
our new blog, AVweb Insider, for personal insights and commentary
on the aviation industry from our staff of writers and editors.
More...

No More Excuses for Family & Friends Not
Enjoying Your Love of Flight!
The ReliefBand is the most effective and predictable relief
available for nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness.
Because this wristwatch-like device produces no side effects, the
ReliefBand is FDA-cleared. It's the best $129.95 purchase you
will make for your aircraft's accessories. The ReliefBand is
available exclusively at Aeromedix by calling (888)
362-7123, or
go online to purchase.

AVweb reader Alec Thigpen
recommended the FBO, telling us how manager Stephen Leidigh helped him
(and others) during the very busy week of Sun 'n
Fun:

[O]n a busy Saturday of Sun 'n Fun, [Stephen made
time] to personally take us to our plane on a somewhat distant parking
area when we were unable to get a SNF shuttle to come get us. He also
took another group to their airplane as well. The facilities were
perfect for all of our needs, and there was a fuel discount during the
week of the show as well. Their friendliness was quite nice and not all
that common at many FBOs when things get
hectic.

MEET
STAFF SGT. RYAN KELLYAs you may have read
recently on AVweb, Staff Sgt. Ryan Kelly recently
earned his helicopter and helicopter CFI certificates (as well as a
degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University). Having lost a leg in
Iraq, Kelly is the first wounded warrior to earn his fixed-wing private
pilot certificate through the Able Flight scholarship program. Listen to this
podcast to hear Ryan's story in his own words. More...

AVweb Classified Ads: Buying or Selling
Anything & Everything Aviation!
From Aerostars to Zenairs; aircraft tools and parts; employment
opportunities and those looking for employment; houses/hangars for sale
and lease; avionics 
just take a look on
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Have a product or service to advertise
on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's
sales team.

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